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New Releases August 17–23 and Readers Choice C*ntest

First (thanks to Liz for the idea), I took Jean Lafitte on a culinary adventure today at Tynga’s Reviews, with “I Yam What I Yam.” I couldn’t quite see DJ taking him to Chuckie Cheese–I don’t think there’s even one in New Orleans, so they’d have had to drive out to Metairie. So I found another dining spot. Jenn also has a review up at Tynga’s today!

[Originally, I had another flash fiction scheduled today, but the schedule got changed at the last minute, so look for it later in the week.]

I’m also at All Things Urban Fantasy today, talking about my favorite kind of character–the morally ambiguous. Characters who walk the line between hero and not-so-heroic. Jean Lafitte began this way but has drifted more into the heroic realm. Now, Quince Randolph–THERE is a morally ambiguous character. This is a Tier 1 stop, with a book giveaway from Tor.

Finally, I’m at the Tor/Forge blog today, talking about the vast array of New Orleans serial killers from which I could choose when I went looking for the perfect villain for Elysian Fields.

Since it’s mid-month, the number of new releases is fairly light this week (just wait…just you wait!). But we have the start of a new Kelley Armstrong series, which sounds interesting, and I already have the new Linda Grimes book in my TBR pile..mountain…volcano…whatever.

Now…what do you want to read this week? As always, leave a comment telling me the book you’d most like to win, and maybe random.org will make your wishes come true. Your choice of print or digital unless otherwise stated. International? Of course! As long as Book Depository delivers to your country, please enter. If you’d prefer the first book in a series listed here, that’s okay, too.

Kirsty d’Arc’s first Reaper mission gets personal when her ex-boss escapes from Hell and physically possesses Shannon, Kirsty’s BFF. To reunite rightful body and soul, Kirsty must outwit a demented demon, fend off an insane strangler, and bend the very rules of Hell and Earth. Dante is still miffed that she broke the Reaper rules to take down her ex-boss, Conrad. Conrad develops strange demonic powers and escapes to the Mortal Coil. Although barely speaking, Kirsty and Dante are sent on Kirsty’s first Reaper mission: bring Conrad back. Before they can re-scythe him, Conrad evicts his own daughter’s soul to take over her body. Can Kirsty and Dante put their differences aside in time to take down Conrad and save his daughter?(ebook only)

When a portrait is lost that has maintained Quentin Collins’s youthful appearance for over a century, and has also kept his werewolf curse at bay, Quentin begins to dread the full moon. David, the sixteen-year-old heir to the Collins fortune, has fallen in love with Jacqueline, a young girl living at the Old House who is the reincarnation of Angelique. David and Jacqueline are swept back in time to the prohibition era of the Twenties, where David uncovers the dark secrets of the Collins family history. Dr. Nathanial Blair, an expert in the paranormal, has come to Collinwood because he suspects they are harboring a vampire. Barnabas Collins has returned to his coffin after a disastrous flirtation with life as a human. What Blair discovers places the entire Collins family in jeopardy.

Sara Jane Rispoli is still searching for her missing family. This time she finds herself on the run from creepy beings with red, pulsing eyes and pale white skin chasing her through the streets in ice cream trucks. They’re terrifying and hell bent on killing her, but they’re also a link to her family, a clue to where they might be and who has them. She’s discovering more about her own cold fury and more about the Chicago Outfit. Connecting the dots may finally be the undoing of her relationship with the handsome Max. Her pursuers who’ve shown her her mother’s amputated finger and the head of the Chicago Outfit who’s just whistled her in for a sit-down make a romance unthinkable. The only thing that matters is finding her family and keeping everyone she loves alive.

Twenty-four-year-old Olivia Taylor Jones has the perfect life. Olivia’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers. Olivia decides to find out the truth about the Larsens. Olivia ends up in the small town of Cainsville, Illinois. Aided by her mother’s former lawyer, Gabriel Walsh, Olivia focuses on the Larsens’ last crime, the one her birth mother swears will prove their innocence. Olivia finds herself drawing on abilities that have remained hidden since her childhood, gifts that make her both a valuable addition to Cainsville and deeply vulnerable to unknown enemies. Because there are darker secrets behind her new home and powers lurking in the shadows that have their own plans for her.

Ciel Halligan, an aura adaptor is working a job at the National Zoo with her boyfriend, Billy, and his ten-year-old sister, Molly. It’s supposed to be a quick fix, giving her time to decide if it’s wise to pursue the romantic relationship, Molly has already begun to show signs of being an adaptor herself. What is impossible is her taking on the form of the baby orangutan she touches. She can’t change herself back. Escaping from the zoo with their new baby orang, Ciel and Billy head for NYC and the only person they know can help: Ciel’s brother James. When Billy winds up in jail, Ciel begins to suspect Molly’s unusual adapting ability is more than just a fluke. Who’s been experimenting on Molly, and what do they hope to gain? And will Ciel survive to find out?

It is the year 2059. Several major world cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London, part of a secret cell known as the Seven Seals. The work she does is unusual: scouting for information by breaking into others’ minds. Paige is a dreamwalker, a rare kind of clairvoyant. When Paige is captured and arrested, she encounters a power more sinisterthan Scion. The voyant prison is a separate city controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. These creatures, the Rephaim, value the voyants highly. Paige is assigned to a Rephaite keeper, Warden. If she wants to regain her freedom, Paige will have to learn something of his mind and his own mysterious motives.

Fourteen-year-old Daniel Hauer is on the run from the law. Even though Daniel acted in self-defense when he accidentally killed his stepfather, he’s afraid the authorities will not see it that way. The situation is complicated by the fact that Daniel is the missing heir to the far-off kingdom of Aandor, something Daniel is unaware of. Because he is the key to uniting a warring empire, there are those who are desperate to locate him, but there are also those who wish him never to be found. From the streets of New York City to the back roads of rural North Carolina, the search for Daniel sets powerful factions against each other in a do-or-die battle for the rule of the kingdom of Aandor.

Richard saw the point of a sword blade sticking out from between the man’s shoulder blades. He spun back toward Richard after throwing the woman out the opening, ready to attack. The man looked unaffected by the blade that had impaled him through the chest. Richard got his first good look at the killer. Three knives were buried up to their brass cross-guards in the man’s chest. Richard saw, too, the broken end of a sword blade jutting out from the center of the man’s chest. The point of that same blade stuck out from the man’s back. Richard recognized the knife handles. All three were the style carried by the men of the First File. That was when he realized the true horror of the situation, and the reason for the unbearable stench of death.

The darkness creeps upon us and we shudder, or it suddenly startles and we scream. There need be no monsters for us to be terrified in the dark, but if there are, they are just as often human and supernatural. Join us in this outstanding annual exploration of the year’s best dark fiction that includes stories of quiet fear, the utterly fantastic, the weirdly surreal, atmospheric noir, mysterious hauntings, seductive nightmares, and frighteningly plausible futures. Featuring thirty-five tales from masterful authors and talented new writers sure to make you reconsider walking in the shadows alone.

The masked powers of Fate and Chaos are killing gods in the land of Kaen, facing the Wardlands across the Narrow Sea. Vocates Aloê Oaij and Morlock Ambrosius cross into the unguarded lands, seeking to uncover the reasons for the godslaying, and to avert any threat to the lands the Graith of Guardians has sworn to protect. After crash-landing on the hostile coast of Kaen, the two Guardians confront vengeful frightened gods, a calmly murderous dragon, a demon called Andhrakar, and a bitter old necromancer named Merlin Ambrosius. Amid these dangers they find that they can trust no one but themselves, and each other.

The small print: Five entries possible: +1 for comment to tell me what book you want, +1 for blog follow, +1 forTwitter follow, +1 for a Tweet or RT about the contest, +1 for aFacebooklike. This contest is international to any place Book Depository ships. Contests end at midnight CDT U.S. on Saturday, and winners will be announced on Sunday’s blog. It’s the responsibility of the winner to contact me with their mailing info. Books unclaimed after a month will go into a general giveaway pile.

Thanks for the chance to enter! The one book that I would love to get is Kelley Armstrong’s Omens. I love her writing and this is the start of a whole new adventure. 🙂 +1 comment, GFC follower, NetworkedBlogs follower, FB follower